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Enhancing R&D employment slack during environmental turbulence: Triggers and firm performance consequences for R&D-active SMEs

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  • Teirlinck, Peter

Abstract

We provide guidance for the management of R&D employment slack in small- and medium-sized enterprises during crisis, and in view of post-recession firm performance. A multi-dimensional R&D related financial resources approach including overall available financial slack, sources of financing for R&D, type of R&D, and R&D cooperation is adopted. A triangulation of regression and qualitative comparative analyses of data for R&D-active SMEs in the small open Belgian economy in the period 2007–2013 is relied upon. From a managerial perspective, to weather the storm of a financial and economic downturn, we highlight the need for R&D-active SMEs to engage in knowledge development – rather than knowledge exchange – in R&D cooperation in view of post-recession firm performance, and to get familiarized with access to external finance for R&D prior to crisis to strengthen or safeguard R&D employment slack during crisis. A high level of available financial slack prior to crisis has limited influence on R&D employment slack during crisis, but positively moderates the relation between R&D employment slack enhancement during crisis and post-crisis firm performance.

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  • Teirlinck, Peter, 2022. "Enhancing R&D employment slack during environmental turbulence: Triggers and firm performance consequences for R&D-active SMEs," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:techno:v:118:y:2022:i:c:s0166497222001699
    DOI: 10.1016/j.technovation.2022.102622
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